In Situ Synthesis of Environmentally Friendly Waterborne Polyurethane Extended with Regenerated Cellulose Nanoparticles for Enhanced Mechanical Performances.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Choi, Soon Mo Lee, Soo Young Lee, Sunhee Han, Sung Soo Shin, Eun Joo
Editor	Ferrari, Francesca
Copyright Year	2023
Abstract	The development of waterborne polyurethane (WPU) has been stimulated as an alternative to solvent-based polyurethanes due to low-VOC alternatives and reduced exposure to solvents. However, their relatively low mechanical performance and degradation have presented challenges in their wide application. Here, we developed environmentally-friendly bio polyol-based WPU nanocomposite dispersions and films, and presented the optimal process conditions for their manufacture. Additionally, the condition was established without using harmful catalysts or ethyl methyl ketone (MEK) during the polymerization. Moreover, regenerated cellulose nanoparticles (RCNs) were employed as natural chain-extenders in order to improve the biodegradability and mechanical performances of the nanocomposite films. The RCNs have a lower crystallinity compared to cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), allowing them to possess high toughness without interfering with the elastomeric properties of polyurethane. The prepared CWPU/RCNs nanocomposite films exhibited high toughness of 58.8 ± 3 kgf∙mm and elongation at break of 240 ± 20%. In addition, depending on the molar ratio of NCO/OH, the polyurethane particle size is variously controlled from 70 to 230 nm, enabling to fabricate their dispersions with various transmittances. We believe that our findings not only open a meaningful path toward green elastomers with biodegradability but provides the design concept for bio-elastomers in order to develop industrial elastomers with mechanical and thermal properties.
Journal	Polymers
Volume Number	15
PubMed Central reference number	PMC10058780
Issue Number	6
PubMed reference number	36987323
e-ISSN	20734360
DOI	10.3390/polym15061541
Language	English
Publisher	MDPI
Publisher Date	2023-03-20
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). © 2023 by the authors.
Subject Keyword	stretchable waterborne polyurethane regenerated cellulose nanocomposite film natural filler environmentally friendly
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Chemistry Polymers and Plastics